In the semiconductor industry, various manufacturing processes are typically carried out on a workpiece (e.g., a semiconductor wafer) in order to achieve various results thereon. Processes such as ion implantation, for example, can be performed in order to obtain a particular characteristic on or within the workpiece, such as doping a layer on the workpiece by implanting a specific type of ion. Conventionally, ion implantation processes are performed in either a batch process, wherein multiple workpieces are processed concurrently, or in a serial process, wherein a single workpiece is individually processed.
In general, it is desirable to provide uniform implantation of the surface of the workpiece, (i.e. ensure that implant properties such as dose, angle, power density deposited, etc., are uniform across the surface). However, at the plane of the workpiece the current or charge of a typical ion beam can vary significantly across a cross-section of the beam, and such variation can lead to a potential non-uniform implantation of the workpiece in both batch processes and serial processes. Therefore, it is generally desirable to accurately measure a profile and/or trajectory of the ion beam as it would impact the workpiece (i.e., at the workpiece plane). Conventionally, such a profile measurement of the ion beam has been a cumbersome and/or time consuming process that is separate from the implantation process, and which requires additional hardware that is difficult to integrate into the implanter. Therefore, profiles are frequently not measured at all, but rather implantations are often merely based on assumptions of how the ion beam should appear for a given set of input parameters.
Therefore, a need currently exists for an apparatus, system, and method for determining a profile of an ion beam, wherein a charge distribution across the ion beam can be empirically determined in a highly efficient manner.